Halsey just wanted to seek justice for his American soldiers, but MacArthur wanted to use this incident to gain maximum political capital.
With Zhu Yu in front of him who suppressed veterans in Washington, it will be difficult for MacArthur to restore his image in the minds of Americans. His best way now is to establish an image that is equally tough externally, so that at least he looks the same. After all, in the United States, honesty is very important to politicians.
An important quality.
This sounds like a joke. Politicians, especially American politicians, are notorious for lying. If they repeat lies for a long time, they think they are true.
The reason why you lie habitually is because you have become the recipient of vested interests. Before that, you have to create an honest persona, otherwise you will not gain the trust of voters.
Mountbatten also had a temper and would not sacrifice his own honor to help MacArthur.
But he did not dare to fight back head-on. After all, if he wanted to regain control of the Lion City, Mountbatten still needed the help of the Americans.
and cooperation in southern Africa.
Angel will definitely not cooperate with Mountbatten.
Although he ostensibly supported Mountbatten as the governor of the Straits Settlements, he actually regarded the Lion City as a private reserve of the Indian Ocean Navy and would never allow Britain to resume its rule over the Lion City.
For Mountbatten, conflicts within the Allies were trivial. Killing an American would not cause the United States and Britain to fall out. Paying money and severely punishing the parties involved could extinguish the anger of the Americans. The key was control of the Straits Settlements.
When the British Empire was at its peak, no one dared to challenge the status of the British Empire. There was only one port in the Malacca Strait, the Lion City, where ships could dock for supplies. By collecting taxes alone, the Lion City could contribute millions of pounds in profits to the UK every year.
The tax collection is still small, and more profits come from re-export trade. The Lion City is the cargo distribution center of Southeast Asia, and this area contributes even greater profits.
In a word, the reason why the Lion City has developed rapidly in the past hundred years is its irreplaceable geographical advantage.
The root of "irreplaceable" here lies in the powerful British Navy.
Not to mention the distance, there is not only one port in the Malacca Strait, but the Lion City, there are several in East India across the strait. The reason why the Lion City is so dominant is inseparable from the deterrence of the Royal Navy.
When the Royal Navy was powerful, naturally no one dared to challenge the status of the Lion City.
Now that the strength of the Royal Navy has long been surpassed by the US Navy and the Southern African Navy, can the Lion City still maintain its transcendent status?
This was Mountbatten's biggest concern.
A clever woman cannot make a meal without rice. Without the support of the Royal Navy, Mountbatten could not restore the status of the Straits Settlements even if he had only three heads and six arms.
Therefore, the key to the problem is not the decline of the Lion City, but the decline of the United Kingdom. If this problem is not solved, there will be no solution to the problem of the Lion City.
"In the past few decades, we first lost Cape Town, gave up Halifax, sold Changi Naval Base and the Chagos Islands. If we give up the Lion City now, then we may still
Losing control of the Suins Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar, what will the British Empire have to lose by then?" When Mountbatten took stock of his gains and losses, he subconsciously avoided India.
After the opening of the Suins Canal, Cape Town's status declined seriously and it was gradually marginalized. It was understandable to allow southern Africa to have autonomy. After all, no one expected that southern Africa would develop to the extent it has today.
The reason for voluntarily abandoning Halifax was that after the Washington Naval Conference, the U.S. Navy obtained the same capital ship tonnage as the Royal Navy, so Britain had to give up half of its control of the Atlantic Ocean to the United States.
Don't listen to what the British say, but they are actually weak in strength.
Even the Americans did not expect that Britain's strength would weaken so quickly, and they were not ready to take over the sphere of influence, so southern Africa took advantage of it.
India's importance to Britain far exceeds that of other overseas colonies. Mountbatten has spent most of the past two years in India and knows the situation in India very well. Compared with places like the Lion City, India is Britain's core interest.
Sadly, now that even India has begun to no longer accept British rule, Mountbatten is in a panic and doesn't know how to start.
"Order the troops to take over the Lion City. No matter what, the Lion City cannot be lost from my hands." Mountbatten took the risk in a desperate move, betting that An Qi would not give up and die together.
The reason why Angel strives to protect the Lion City is because of the Chinese in the Lion City. Mountbatten now at least occupies a righteous position, and Angel has no sufficient reason to prevent the British army from taking over the Lion City.
If only Angel wasn't as barbaric as the British.
A city like the Lion City is naturally repulsive to Indian soldiers, and the Indian soldiers under Mountbatten had long coveted the prosperity of the Lion City.
Who is India?
India is the most loyal dog of the British Empire. In the British colonial system, apart from Britain being the master, India's status is one person below ten thousand people. Rounding up, India is also the master of the Lion City.
Unlike India, which is a country of non-violence and non-cooperation, the people of Lion City have a clear sense of love and hate, and do not hide their hatred and rejection of Indians. Many restaurants in Lion City even directly put up notices saying "Indians are not allowed to enter", which makes many Indians
very angry.
The American soldiers were very happy.
Because there is finally one place in the world where the antipathy towards a certain group of people is greater than that of Americans.
This cannot be blamed on the snobbery of restaurants in the Lion City. It has nothing to do with whether Indians have money. It is purely because if there are Indian guests dining in the restaurant, it will affect the mood of other guests.
It is generally accepted that white people have greater body odor, while Indians have similar body odor to white people.
White people know that they have strong body odor, so they use perfume to cover it up, which is barely acceptable.
Most of the Indian soldiers in the British-Indian army cannot afford perfume, so the restaurant does not provide services to Indians. It is really not discrimination.
Indians don't think so, and they are not aware of the problem of body odor at all, or they don't care if they are aware of it.
That's how I am, whether you are used to it or not, you have to accept it.
Therefore, Indian soldiers cannot feel any warmth from the people of Lion City in this bustling city.
At this time, Mountbatten ordered the British and Indian troops to take over the Lion City, which played into the hands of the Indian soldiers.
The arrogant and rude Lion City people should have been taught a lesson long ago.
So on the day Mountbatten ordered the troops to take over the Lion City, dozens of restaurants and shops run by Lion City residents were smashed and robbed by Indian soldiers.
This matter immediately attracted the attention of Changi Naval Base.
Changi Naval Base has its own system, but the East Asian Allied Forces have very close ties with the Lion City, using the Lion City as the logistics base for the East Asian Allied Forces.
Angel is the supreme commander of the East Asian Allied Forces. If the Lion City falls into chaos, it will have an impact on the logistics supply of the East Asian Allied Forces.
It was Rex who came forward to negotiate. This time he stopped beating around the bush and directly asked the Straits Settlements to ensure the stability of the Lion City and to ensure that the logistics supply of the East Asian Allied Forces must not be affected.
"The purpose of taking over the management of the Lion City is to ensure the logistical stability of the Allied Forces. The British Army is also part of the Allied Forces." Kenny Wilson looked sincere. As long as the Southern African Expeditionary Force still operates within the rules, the British will
Definitely a win.
Mountbatten sent troops to take over the Lion City, not the Changi Naval Base. In theory, Angel had no reason to object.
"But because of your reckless behavior, it has had an impact on the Lion City, which will seriously affect the Allied forces' war against Japan. You must stop the action immediately and restore the stability of the Lion City." Rex had a tough attitude.
In terms of overall interests, the UK also has to make temporary concessions.
This is also an exaggeration.
After the two atomic bombs were dropped, the issue that the Japanese government had to consider now was not to continue fighting, but in which posture to lie down and let the Allied forces fall.
The stability of the Lion City is important, but it is not important enough to affect frontline operations. Otherwise, Angel would have sent troops to expel the British and Indian troops, and Mountbatten would not have been given the chance to take over the Lion City.
"It's just a small accident. In a week at most, the Lion City can return to stability and be even better than before." Kenny Wilson fired his bow without looking back. This was Mountbatten's only chance.
Angel can still wait for a week.
However, things did not develop as Mountbatten hoped.
On the night when the British and Indian troops took over the Lion City, a patrol force composed of Indian soldiers was attacked by a roadside bomb. 24 Indian soldiers died on the spot and more than 40 people were injured.
An American soldier was killed, prompting Halsey and MacArthur to speak out at the same time.
Dozens of Indian soldiers were injured or killed, which immediately aroused Mountbatten's rage.
After learning the news, Mountbatten's first reaction was to follow his usual practice and retaliate against the residents around the attack site.
This situation was very common in the Boer War. At that time, if the British army was attacked, they would take the place where the attack occurred as the center point and retaliate against the residents within ten miles of the surrounding area.
Southern Africa is a vast and sparsely populated area, and any larger farm is more than ten miles away.
How big is the area of the entire Lion City?
If we draw a circle based on ten miles, then all the people in the Lion City will have to be buried with the twenty or so Indians, and the Changi Naval Base will have to be included in a small half.
Since ten miles is unrealistic, there is a second option.
The second option is to execute the Lion City people at a ratio of one to ten in retaliation for the Lion City people's resistance.
Mountbatten did not care whether those executed had anything to do with the attack.
"This is impossible. The people in Lion City are not Boers. The man at Changi Naval Base will definitely not agree." Kenny Wilson also disagreed. Lion City is a prosperous and civilized modern city, and these early colonial traditions have been passed down.
Is it really appropriate to handle it in this way?
"Are there criminals in the Lion City Prison? You have to learn to be flexible." Mountbatten was not stupid and did not dare to continue to anger An Qi.
There is no need to investigate this matter. The supporters behind it are either southern Africa or the United States. There is no third possibility.
The possibility of taking action in southern Africa is very high. Attacking the patrol can not only deter the British and Indian troops, but also encourage the people of Lion City.
They have already reached the point of retaliating against each other. Is it possible for the relationship to return to what it was before?
The possibility of the Americans taking action is also very high. Anyway, Mountbatten is MacArthur. Mountbatten is eager to muddy the water to see if there is any opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
This method of hurting others without benefiting oneself is very American.
Following this line of investigation, East India and Australia are also suspected. These two countries are eager to have a falling out between Southern Africa and the United Kingdom, so that they can better embrace the thighs of Southern Africa.
"Most of the prisoners held in the Lion City Prison are British." Kenny Wilson provided information that stunned Mountbatten.
The Lion City is a British colony. The British are superior to others in the colonies. They are like the local emperors. Are they supposed to be superior to others?
In Mountbatten's understanding, most of the people incarcerated in the Lion City Prison should be Chinese or Malays. Even if white people occasionally commit crimes, they can escape from prison through bail and other methods and will not be actually imprisoned.
"Many of them fled Lion City when the Japanese army approached it. After the Japanese army was defeated by the Southern African Expeditionary Force, they tried to return to Lion City, but were rejected by the War Council, so they chose to smuggle back to Lion City in various ways.
Lion City, and then they are thrown into prison." Kenny Wilson was also helpless. It is certainly right for a gentleman not to stand under dangerous walls, but since he chooses to be a deserter, he must bear the consequences of being a deserter.
Deserters in a state of war will be subject to military law.
During the British rule, even if white people committed crimes, they would be given a lighter sentence.
When the Japanese army approached the Lion City, the governors of the Straits Settlements fled in panic, and the entire colonial system collapsed completely. We can't blame the British for fleeing. They had no consciousness of coexisting with the Lion City.
Only true Lion City people would choose to fight to the end at that time.
"The War Council must be disbanded, moles, traitors, worms -" Mountbatten's dislike of the War Council rose to an extremely high level.
But who can blame this?
Almost all members of the War Commission were colonial officials during the British rule, and were talented individuals trained and promoted by the British.
The British colonies were simply too large. Compared with overseas colonies, the number of British people was too small. They could not fully manage the colonies and could only use barbarians to control barbarians.
During the British rule, the apartheid policy of "divide and rule" was implemented in the Lion City. There were obvious economic and labor dividing lines between various ethnic groups, and each lived in an independent spatial area with clear distinctions.
The benefits of this are obvious. It supplements the single colonial economy, divides and draws together various ethnic groups, and creates conflicts. The British can mediate in a detached position and reap the benefits.
The disadvantages are also obvious.
The Lion City is mainly composed of British, Chinese, and Malays, with Chinese accounting for the majority.
Without the intervention of external forces, the Chinese were at a disadvantage and could only accept British colonization.
Now with the help of the Southern African Expeditionary Force, will the Chinese still accept British rule?
